From Baseball America regarding the Royals chances of signing Hosmer and/or Melville.  Sounds upbeat to me but what does everyone else think of Jim Callis and his comments?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2008/266424.html

Any rumblings out of the Royals organization regarding the Eric Hosmer and Tim Melville negotiations? Your original line of thinking was that Melville was more than a hedge against Hosmer signing. Are there indications they're serious about signing both?

Bill Lamberty
Bozeman, Mont.

Teams knew that neither Hosmer, the best high school hitter in the draft and a Scott Boras Corporation advisee, nor Melville, arguably the best prep pitcher available, would be easy to sign. There's no concrete number on exactly what Hosmer is looking for, but clubs believed he wanted a major league contract worth upwards of $5 million. Melville's mother told scouts that he wanted a bonus commensurate with the first 10-15 picks, meaning a minimum of roughly $1.75 million.

There has been no public comment from either side on how negotiations are progressing, but I believe they'll try to get both deals done. The Royals wouldn't have chosen Hosmer third overall if they didn't think they could sign him, and they've paid top dollar for Boras clients in the first round of the previous two drafts (Luke Hochevar, Mike Moustakas). I don't think Melville is just an insurance policy in case the Hosmer negotiations go awry, and there's talk that the Missourian may be willing to give Kansas City a slight homestate discount.

Because both players will command more than slot money, it's unlikely that their deals would be finalized before the Aug. 15 deadline. I'll be shocked if the Royals don't sign Hosmer, and I think there's a good chance that they'll land Melville.

Projected lineup

David DeJesus led off and played center field followed second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, first baseman Ross Gload, Guillen in right, third baseman Alex Gordon, designated hitter Billy Butler, left fielder Mark Teahen, catcher John Buck and shortstop Tony Peña.

What does everyone think of the possible lineup that was mentioned yesterday?  Would Gload really be put in the 3 spot?  I would have thought either Teahen or Gordon would be there.  Otherwise, it was pretty much what I expected.

Rotoworld posted their projected lineups for 2008 and have suggested a couple of moves. Teahen being traded for Paul Byrd? Geoff Jenkins or Ben Francisco taking over in RF and Shannon Stewart in LF. No mention of Hochevar or Buckner in the starting rotation. Thought this might be of interest to everyone...

Kansas City

CF David DeJesus

2B Mark Grudzielanek

3B Alex Gordon

DH Billy Butler

RF Geoff Jenkins/Ben Francisco

LF Shannon Stewart/Joey Gathright

1B Ross Gload/Ryan Shealy

C John Buck

SS Tony Pena Jr.

Gil Meche

Paul Byrd

Brian Bannister

Zack Greinke

Kyle Davies/Jorge De La Rosa

Joakim Soria

David Riske

Jimmy Gobble

With Buddy Bell resigning, the Royals' first priority this winter will be deciding on a new manager. Terry Pendleton is looked at as a favorite, though he may pass and wait for the opportunity to take over for Bobby Cox in Atlanta. Then again, the Kansas City job is quite a bit more attractive now than it's been in some time. Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are the biggest reasons why, but the Royals also have the makings of a solid pitching staff and an owner finally willing to spend some money.

The Royals will want to add at least one more starter this winter. It looked like it'd have to be two, but Zack Greinke has served notice that he belongs in the rotation and he should enter spring training with a spot to lose. With few quality starters available in free agency, the Royals should turn to the trade market. Paul Byrd would be ideal since he's pitched in Kansas City before and likely would be open to sticking around after 2008. Loaiza, Capuano and Dave Bush could also be possibilities. If the Royals do explore the free agent options, it figures that they'll be in on Carlos Silva, Jon Lieber and Kyle Lohse.

Joakim Soria's emergence means the Royals won't have to chase a closer. Still, if one falls into their laps, much like Octavio Dotel did last year, they could use Soria as a setup man.

The offense could be fairly well set except for the outfield. The Royals could pick up someone to play first base like Sean Casey or Dan Johnson, but they like Ross Gload and wouldn't be afraid to platoon him there with Shealy. The outfield could be completely jumbled with Emil Brown and Reggie Sanders expected to depart and both David DeJesus and Mark Teahen candidates to be traded. I have Teahen going for Byrd, opening up right field for a free agent. Geoff Jenkins would be a nice middle-of-the-order option, and he probably won't be very expensive. Signing a veteran to battle Joey Gathright for playing time in left field makes sense. With the lineup getting a little lefty heavy, Shannon Stewart, Craig Monroe or Scott Podsednik would work. I like the idea of trading for Jonny Gomes, but I'm guessing Dayton Moore doesn't.

The Royals could be a .500 team in 2009 with luck. In the National League, they'd have a realistic chance of getting there next year.

is starting the watch to see who gets the #1 pick in the 2008 draft. So far the Rays, White Sox and Marlins are in the lead in what Baseball America is referring to as the "Pedro Alvarez sweepstakes." Just what we need, another 3B prospect! Alvarez is supposed to be a stud but we're running out of space at 3B (Gordon), 1B (Butler?) and RF (Teahen). Thought it might be of interest...
"Race for the bottom."
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=235